Bones

This article is about the item. For the NPC, see Bones (kitten).

For a list of all types of bones, see Bones (disambiguation).

Bones

Release date	4 January 2001 (Update)
Members?	No
Quest item?	No
Tradeable?	Yes
Equipable?	No
Stacks?	No
High Alch	0 coins
Low Alch	0 coins
Destroy	Drop
Store price	Not sold
Examine	Bones are for burying. They seem to shake slightly... It might be a good idea to bury them. (from Skeletal gorillas) Warning: may contain bones. (Soul Wars)
Weight	0.5 kg

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Bones are the remains of the dead and can be used to train the Prayer skill. They are dropped by most monsters around RuneScape with animal or humanoid appearance. Monsters that do not drop bones include demons and imps, spirits and ghosts, spiders and insectoids, among others. Some monsters drop specific types of bones, such as big bones, bat bones, monkey bones or dragon bones. Normal bones give 4.5 Prayer experience when buried, and any bones used on a prayer altar in a dungeon during Dungeoneering will yield 4 times the amount of prayer experience as when buried. Starting at level one and only burying normal bones it will take 2,896,541 bones for skill mastery (level 99 at 13,034,434.5 xp). When training Prayer in Daemonheim, it should be noted that all bones that the player drops will disappear as normal, so those people who like to "stockpile" items while Dungeoneering should avoid this, as the bones they save will disappear. You can find bones at the gravestones of people who have died, listing the name of those who have died. Players may also use the spell Bones to Bananas or the spell Bones to Peaches to turn normal bones to edible bananas or peaches. Bones can also be offered at the altar in a player-owned house.

A player offering bones at a marble altar in a POH.

Cost and XP Analysis

This table can be used to compare and decide on how to train with the bones for the most desired cost versus experience gained. Notice how the cost in coins per XP point varies greatly depending on how the bones are used — but also remember that the different methods have different training speeds.

	Bury	Gilded altar	Ectofuntus
Experience	4.5	15.75	18
Cost per XP

Notes:

• It is assumed that two incense, mahogany or marble burners are lit while using the Gilded altar.
• The costs only include the cost of bones. The cost of clean marrentills used with the burners is not calculated.

Bones areas

Areas with enemies that spawn quickly after death, such as the goblin area and the Lumbridge Catacombs in Lumbridge, are great places to collect bones easily without much hassle. This gives players the chance to level up their prayer fast, as well as any combat level preferred. Other areas where bones can be easily found and collected are outside Lumbridge Castle, in Edgeville Dungeon, at the hill giants, in the Yak field in Neitiznot, on the first level of the Stronghold of Security, or the Bone Yard in the Wilderness (although player killers might roam the area).

Although many players do not bury bones, and instead leave them on the ground, it is recommended that players do bury the bones a monster drops, as they will get some experience in the Prayer skill. (please note that prayer is one of the slowest growing skills.)

Especially useful when burying bones during combat training- a trick is to click to bury them just as you swing your weapon. If timed correctly, this will not interrupt your weapon swing at all.

Players can sometimes receive Bones as a reward from the Soul Wars minigame, by selecting the Gamble option, which may award a player up to 290 bones. Some Low Level players will often collect bones and store them in the bank, and then sell the bones at the grand exchange. Players often make money by doing this method.

Training

A player burying bones.

A recommended place to collect Bones without having to kill monsters is the Chaos Temple. If you have completed Defender of Varrock quest, talk to Hartwin and have him teleport you, as this makes the temple a safe area.

Other good areas include the chicken coop and cow field near Lumbridge, the chicken coop near the cabbage patch near Draynor, in crowded areas like the Al-Kharid, and the Stronghold of Security. Also, the yak field of Neitiznot is usually strewn with bones, among the yak's other drops. The chicken coops are especially good for making money, as most chickens drop feathers as well as bones, which stack and sell for roughly 12gp on the Grand Exchange.

Another good method would be training Hunter. All Birds and Kebbits drop Bones, therefore training 2 skills at a time. While waiting for the traps in Feldip Hills, a player can also take a hatchet for the local Achey trees, make a fire and cook the meat to train Woodcutting, Firemaking, Hunter, Prayer, and Cooking, therefore gaining experience in 5 skills at once.

If you have a high combat level (and can risk a bit of armour) you can go to bone yard and collect the bones and big bones, be aware of the skeletons. Note that this method is available to F2P players, and it is considered as one of the best ways to train Prayer on F2P servers without spending money. More information with effective methods here.

A great place to get bones (if you have access to the fairy ring network) is penguin isle, the small island is just populated by penguins (level 2) you can kill them quick and easy and collect the bones. (Fairy ring code AJS)

Trading

Trading for bones is not recommended, (although when sold in groups of 24 at the Grand Exchange, they can sell for about coins) as bones are extremely common and can be found at almost every location - players can either find them on the ground (left behind by players who have killed creatures and did not bother to pick up the bones), or they can kill NPCs and collect the bones.

Unlike the prices of many other raw materials, bones have steadily increased in price on the Grand Exchange: starting at 150 coins and currently at . This is most likely due to the discrepancy in price and experience between bones and big bones, with big bones priced at 412 coins each while yielding only three times the Prayer experience.

Trivia

• It would take approximately 2,896,541 normal bones to get from level 1 prayer to 99. The cost of bones are 105, so 2,896,541 x 105 would equal (  304,136,805). coins. Note: this is how much it would cost if you just buried the bones.

• Bones are a free to play item, so they appear in white text, yet in the game soul wars, the bones are in a gold text, inferring they are members only items.